Light emitting diodes (LED's) have a multiplicity of uses, among which is the application of light in the printing industry. For example, LED's may be used in combination with xerographic copiers, photographic film, and the like for the purpose of recording an image of a message that is transmitted electronically. The use of LED's for this purpose has certain drawbacks. Primarily, high density light is required in such printing applications in order to obtain good contrast and high resolution, but the light output of individual LED's is not high. Consequently, a large number of LED's must be placed in a small area to provide the required high light density. This has proven difficult to achieve because of the size constraints imposed by the crystalline structure involved. More specifically, a major drawback to the use of LED's is that the length of the monoliths from which LED's are made is limited. This is because the LED's are formed upon monoliths that are of monocrystalline form. Because of the methods required to form the monocrystalline material, a limitation is placed upon the size of monoliths which can be made. Present techniques of manufacturing can achieve a monocrystalline boule three inches in diameter, thus limiting the length of a monolith to approximately three inches in length. The most commonly commercially used crystalline boules for LED fabrication are only somewhat larger than one inch in diameter, thus limiting the length even more greatly. Many techniques have been used in an attempt to overcome these shortcomings, but to date none has proven completely satisfactory.
Another problem associated with the use of LED's in the printing industry is their fragile nature, particularly the electrical connections for such LED's. In order to assure that the amount of light emitted to the receiving surface is high, the LED's are placed as close to the surface as possible. This increases the possibility of damage to the LED's because of their movement relative to the receiving surface.